I used to think all poets were Byronic.
They're mostly wicked as a ginless tonic.

--Wendy Cope

The most important elements are a tall glass, clean ice, fresh tonic, ripe lime, and gin -- but not necessarily any particular brand of gin. When mixed with tonic water, "Most people are oblivious to any specific type of gin," confirms Mario Hernandez, a pro of a bartender at the picturesque Boathouse Cafe in Central Park. Yet gin and tonics are an acquired taste, he says, "and the type of people who order them are more professional and drink-conscious." Even though he feels the brand of gin is not that important, it's "Tanq and tonic, Tanq and tonic,\" he hears all day long (referring to Tanqueray). "Beefeater and Bombay Sapphire are more for martinis."

"When I'm drinking a gin and tonic I always feel like I'm relaxing on a verandah, whether I'm on a verandah or not," rhapsodizes Eric Friedland, a New York mutual fund manager, who calls the drink his "single favorite cocktail." Likening the flavor to "sharpened cold water with bubbles, neither too sweet nor too bitter," he loves the very look of the drink, its "clear beauty, the varying shades of green of the lime, and the way a little condensation forms on the glass. The first sip is always so perfect, and it stays the same right through the drink."

While the imbibing of gin and tonics is pure pleasure in these times, the drink was originated in colonial India for medicinal purposes. Tonic water is a diluted form of quinine, an extract of the cinchona nitida tree bark from Java which was used to fight malaria parasites and alleviate fever and pain. To ward off scurvy during long sea voyages in the 19th century, gin and lime was the tonic preferred by the British Navy.

Gin itself was even invented as a therapeutic tool. It was introduced by a 17th century Dutch physician named Franz de la Boe (a.k.a. Doctor Sylvius) who re-distilled grain alcohol with juniper berry, a blood purifier. There was a rush for orders at the apothecary for this wondrous substance, called "jenever" by Doctor Sylvius. English soldiers occupying the Lowlands in the 17th century quickly developed a taste for it. It was they who brought it back to England, where the name was shortened to "gin." In a short time gin became the national drink of England, quickly spreading to the rest of the thirsty world. Because it is simple to make, "bathtub gin" enjoyed wild popularity during Prohibition in America -- so popular in fact that it got a new name: "Mother's Ruin."

With a drink as deliciously satisfying as a gin and tonic, ruination on a hot summer day is a danger, as many can attest. But stay cool and hark back to its medicinal qualities. The recipe is foolproof:

• 1 1/2 oz. gin
• 6 oz. tonic
• fresh lime